The literature on crosslinguistic influence (Sharwood Smith and Kellerman 1986) or transfer, as it has been traditionally called, is by now quite extensive, as befits a topic which has been wreathed in controversy ever since the fledgling days of second language acquisition (SLA). Perhaps few other research interests have been so affected by shifts of paradigm or fashion; yet whether we consider its importance primary or peripheral, an understanding of the part played by knowledge of one's first or other languages in the acquisition of a second remains an essential goal of SLA theory.

Over the past few decades, corpora have not only revolutionized linguistic research but have also had an impact on second language learning and teaching. In the field of applied linguistics, more and more researchers and practitioners treasure what corpus linguistics has to offer to language pedagogy. Still, corpora and corpus tools have yet to be widely implemented in pedagogical contexts. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of pedagogical corpus applications and to review recent publications in the area of corpus linguistics and language teaching. It covers indirect corpus applications, such as in syllabus or materials design, as well as direct applications of corpora in the second language classroom. The article aims to illustrate how both general and specialized language corpora can be used in these applications and discusses directions for future research in applied corpus linguistics.

Two decades of international research in applied linguistics provides a large number and variety of topics from which to choose for this special anniversary edition, but certainly one of the most significant among these choices is the critical period hypothesis (CPH). Few topics in applied linguistics have continued to captivate the interests of researchers and practitioners so intensively and for such a long period of time as the CPH. Indeed, one could easily go back to reviewing three, not two decades of sustained research and continuous interest in this topic (Lenneberg 1967, Scovel 1969). If number and diversity of publications is indicative, the CPH has engendered even more interest and controversy now than in any previous decade. Why is this so?

This chapter reviews recent theoretical and empirical literature regarding teachers' uses of the target (TL) and first (L1) languages in second (SL) and foreign (FL) language classrooms. Theoretically, the article explores several issues related to teachers' use of the L1 and the TL in the classroom: exposure to TL input, student motivation, cognitive considerations, code-switching, and appropriate teacher use of the L1. A review of recent discourse analysis studies examines how much, when, and why FL and SL teachers use the L1 and TL in their pedagogy. The article also presents findings from studies that have considered teachers' self-reports and teachers' and learners' beliefs and attitudes regarding the use of the L1 and the TL in FL and SL classrooms. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.

The label Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is used by a significant number of scholars with a diverse set of concerns in a number of disciplines. It is well-exemplified by the editorial statement of the journal Discourse and Society, which defines its envisaged domain of enquiry as follows: “the reproduction of sexism and racism through discourse; the legitimation of power; the manufacture of consent; the role of politics, education and the media; the discursive reproduction of dominance relation between groups; the imbalances in international communication and information.” While some practitioners of Critical Discourse Analysis might want to amend this list here or there, the set of concerns sketched here well describes the field of CDA. The only comment I would make, a comment crucial for many practitioners of CDA, is to insist that these phenomena are to be found in the most unremarkable and everyday of texts—and not only in texts which declare their special status in some way. This scope, and the overtly political agenda, serves to set CDA off on the one hand from other kinds of discourse analysis, and from textlinguistics (as well as from pragmatics and sociolinguistics) on the other.

In this article we review experimental and intervention studies published since 2004 on formulaic sequences in a second language (L2). There is plenty of evidence that learners have a lot to gain from building a sizable repertoire of L2 formulaic sequences language, but formulaicity is an area where learners are known to be slow to close the gap on native speakers. Pedagogical treatments proposed to help close that gap can be divided into three groups: (a) drawing learners’ attention to formulaic sequences as they are encountered, (b) stimulating lookups in dictionaries and the use of corpus tools, and (c) helping learners commit particular formulaic sequences to memory. We gauge the efficacy of treatments in these three categories by reviewing the (quasi-) experimental studies that put them to the test, and we refer to Laufer and Hulstijn's involvement load hypothesis to frame the discernible trends. The article concludes by suggesting avenues for much needed further research.

Pragmatics has two roles in SLA: It acts as a constraint on linguistic forms and their acquisition, and it represents a type of communicative knowledge and object of L2 learning in its own right. The first role of pragmatics is evident in functionalist (Tomlin 1990) and interactionist (Long 1996) views of SLA. The second role puts pragmatics on a par with morphosyntax, lexis, and phonology in that inquiry focuses on learners' knowledge, use, and acquisition of L2 pragmatics. It is the latter sense of “pragmatics and SLA” that is the focus of this paper. In analogy with other areas of specialization within SLA—interlanguage syntax, interlanguage lexis, and so forth—the study of nonnative speakers' use and acquisition of L2 pragmatic knowledge is referred to as interlanguage pragmatics.

Research demonstrates that study abroad can have a positive impact on every domain of language competence, and that it is particularly helpful for the development of abilities related to social interaction. However, some results suggest that study abroad intensifies individual differences in achievement: Certain students thrive while others founder. Qualitative studies provide insight into the sources of these differences both in the stances that students adopt toward their host communities and in the ways in which they are received. Overall, the research points to a need for language learners’ broader engagement in local communicative practices, for mindfulness of their situation as peripheral participants, and for more nuanced awareness of language itself. This article offers a rationale, based on the current state of the art in research, for including the expertise of language educators in the choice and design of study abroad programs. Students will benefit from programs specifically designed to foster language learning through observation, participation, and reflection.

Case study research has played a very important role in applied linguistics since the field was established, particularly in studies of language teaching, learning, and use. The case in such studies generally has been a person (e.g., a teacher, learner, speaker, writer, or interlocutor) or a small number of individuals on their own or in a group (e.g., a family, a class, a work team, or a community of practice). The cases are normally studied in depth in order to provide an understanding of individuals’ experiences, issues, insights, developmental pathways, or performance within a particular linguistic, social, or educational context. Rather than discuss constructs, hypotheses, and findings in terms of statistical patterns or trends derived from a larger sample or survey of a population of language learners, as in some quantitative research, a qualitative case study of a person presents a contextualized human profile. Case study has contributed substantially to theory development, generating new perspectives or offering a refutation or refinement of earlier theories in applied linguistics by analyzing linguistic, cultural, and social phenomena associated with children, adolescents, young adults, and older adults.

In recent years, the purview of case studies in applied linguistics has expanded to include many previously underrepresented topics, linguistic situations, theoretical perspectives, and populations. This article provides an overview of some traditional areas of coverage and then newer foci in terms of methodology, thematic areas, and findings pertaining to language learners in transnational, multilingual, and diaspora contexts especially.

Despite the frequent references to identity within the field of heritage language education, it is only in the past decade or so that scholars have begun to conduct empirical research on this topic. This article examines recent research on identity and heritage language education in the United States. The article begins with a discussion of the simultaneous development of heritage language education as a field and growth of interest in identity and language learning, followed by a critical examination of the terms “heritage language” and “heritage language education,” as well as of “heritage language learner” as an identity category. Next is a review of empirical studies conducted within the past 5 years, including survey-based research that considered identity in the exploration of students’ reasons for heritage language study, in addition to qualitative and ethnographic research that focused specifically on heritage language learners’ sense of themselves and their relationship to the heritage language, as well as on the ways that heritage language learner identities are constructed, indexed, and negotiated in classroom settings. The next section looks at recent research on pedagogical approaches designed to engage heritage language learners in critical considerations of language and identity. The article concludes with suggestions for future research.

In the last decade genre approaches have had a considerable impact on the ways we understand discourse and in transforming literacy education in different contexts around the world. This chapter reviews the main directions of recent literature in both these areas, showing how the concept of genre is beginning to offer applied linguists a socially informed theory of language and an authoritative pedagogy grounded in research on texts and contexts. In terms of language description, I describe recent studies which seek to elaborate our understanding of generic integrity and variation, the ways that genres are seen as similar and different in terms of their internal structures and as systems of social processes. This research focuses on the contexts, lexico-grammatical features, and rhetorical patterns of genres. In terms of pedagogy, the chapter considers how genre approaches address central issues of language education and critical literacy and the ways that genre is applied in classrooms.

Online language learning (OLL) can take place in Web-facilitated, hybrid, or fully virtual classes. These formats are beginning to attract serious attention from the language profession and, in particular, the field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). This article traces recent studies of online learning and then focuses in on its application to language learning through tutorial CALL, social computing, and games for language learning. I strive to show that tutorial CALL and computer-mediated communication can complement each other in the service of modern language instruction, along with the inclusion of language games. Although assessment studies of OLL remain sparse, the evidence is steadily mounting that shows that these new formats can provide learning environments conducive to successful second language development when properly integrated into the curriculum.

This chapter reviews literature on recent developments in teacher-student interaction and language learning. Based on a sociocultural perspective of language and learning, the studies are drawn from three types of classrooms: first language classrooms; second language classrooms, which include contexts in which the language being learned in the classroom is also the language of the community; and foreign language classrooms. Foreign language learning contexts are those in which exposure to and opportunities for target language interaction are restricted for the most part to the language classroom. Across these three areas, attention is given to studies that investigate the specific means used in teacher-student interaction to promote language learning.

Although there are many studies on the new international norms developing to facilitate communication in English as a lingua franca (ELF), there are limited discussions on the ways local values and identities are negotiated. After reviewing the debates on the place of the local in ELF, this chapter goes on to address the new policy challenges for local communities. Then it reviews studies on the ways local values are represented in oral, written, and digital communication. I finally make a case for developing paradigms based on heterogeneity in applied linguistics to accommodate diversity in successful communication.

Although the sociocultural theory (henceforth SCT) of mental activity, rooted in the work of L. S. Vygotsky and his colleagues, has certainly come to the fore in developmental and educational research (cf. Forman, et al. 1993, Lave and Wenger 1991, Moll 1990, Newman, et al. 1989), it is still very much the “new kid on the block” as far as SLA research is concerned. Recently, however, SCT has begun to enjoy increased attention among L2 researchers, as is amply attested in the bibliography of this paper. This research has focused on three general areas: activity theory and the relevance of motives and goals for L2 learning; the role of private speech in L2 learning; and learning in the zone of proximal development. These areas serve as the organizing basis for the survey that follows. The overview begins, however, with a brief, but necessary, overview of the theory itself.

Automated, frequency-driven approaches to identifying commonly used word combinations have become an important aspect of academic discourse analysis and English for academic purposes (EAP) teaching during the last 10 years. Referred to as clusters, chunks, or bundles, these sequences are certainly formulaic, but in the sense that they are simply extended collocations that appear more frequently than expected by chance, helping to shape meanings in specific contexts and contributing to our sense of coherence in a text. More recently, work has extended to “concgrams,” or noncontiguous word groupings where there is lexical and positional variation. Together, these lexical patterns are pervasive in academic language use and a key component of fluent linguistic production, marking out novice and expert use in a range of genres. This article discusses the emerging research which demonstrates the importance of formulaic language in both academic speech and writing and the extent to which it varies in frequency, form, and function by mode, discipline, and genre.

The omnipresence of English in Europe has led to numerous discussions about its widespread functions and special status compared to all other European languages. Yet, many of these discussions conceive of Europe as a group of nation states where English is either a first or a foreign language. This chapter seeks to question this well-established distinction by investigating what is in fact the most common use of English in Europe, namely English as a lingua franca (ELF). The chapter suggests a different way of conceptualizing the language in European contexts and provides an updated overview of empirical research into its lingua franca use. Examples of a particular approach to ELF research are provided in the form of two case studies focussing on different aspects of ELF interactions. These studies demonstrate how users of ELF exploit the possibilities intrinsic in the language to achieve their own communicative purposes. Finally, the chapter highlights some future directions for linguistic research and addresses the challenges that the emergence of ELF poses for various areas of applied linguistics.

In this final contribution to the issue, we discuss the important concept of generalizability and how it relates to applied linguists’ ability to serve language learners of all shades and grades. We provide insight into how biased sampling in Applied Linguistics currently is and how such bias may skew the knowledge that we, applied linguists, are building about second language learning and instruction. For example, our conclusions are often framed as universally-applying, even though the samples that have given rise to them are highly specific and Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD; Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). We end with a call for research and replication in more diverse contexts and with more diverse samples to promote progress in the field of Applied Linguistics as ARAL celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Digital communication technologies both complexify and help to reveal the dynamics of human communicative activity and capacity for identity performance. Addressing current scholarship on second language use and development, this review article examines research on identity in digital settings either as a design element of educational practice or as a function of participation in noninstitutionally located online cultures. We also address new frontiers and communication in the digital wilds, as it were, and here we focus on cultural production in fandom sites and the processes of transcultural authoring and community building visible in these settings.

The very notion of heritage language (HL) is a sociocultural one insofar as it is defined in terms of a group of people who speak it. Heritage languages also have a sociocultural function, both as a means of communication and as a way of identifying and transforming sociocultural groups. This article surveys two broad approaches to research on the sociocultural dimensions of HL learning. While both of these approaches acknowledge the close connection and mutual dependency between HL learning processes and sociocultural processes, they differ in that one of them takes a correlational perspective, and the other a social constructivist perspective. This article reviews a selective body of work conducted from each of the two perspectives and concludes with a discussion of the implications of the sociocultural complexity associated with HL learning for research and practice.